462 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan.  r,  1897 
crop  on  our  trees,  I have  little  doubt  that  we  shall 
eventually  shew  larger  crops  per  acre  than  those 
countries  have  done.  Our  soil  is  decidedly  richer. 
1 brought  home  a sample  of  soil  which  it  may 
interest  you  to  examine. 
I have  asked  your  Directors  to  send  out  a tur- 
bine, and  to  put  up  a drying  chamber  which  will 
enable  us  to  work  with  greater  economy,  and  to 
place  our  coffee  on  the  market  in  greater  perfection, 
and  so  command  a higher  price. 
I would  finally  urge  upon  the  shareholders  the 
desirability  of  taking  up  their  quota  of  the  new  issue, 
which  will  be  at  the  same  figure  as  the  old  shares, 
viz.,  £8  paid  up,  and  £2  liability.  I have  applied 
for  more  than  my  quota,  as  I believe  it  is  to  my 
advantage  to  increase  my  holding  as  much  as 
I can.  The  area  planted  w'ill  be  larger,  and  proper 
machinery  will  be  put  up  which  will  enable  the  Mana- 
ger to  economise  on  the  annual  expenditure. 
I have  drawn  up  an  estimate  of  the  probable  ex- 
penditure of  this  year  and  of  next  year,  based  upon 
the  actual  expenditure  up  to  date,  which  shews  that 
with  the  assistance  of  the  cash  obtained  by  tne  issue 
of  200  new  shares,  which  will  b expended  on  new 
clearings  and  on  machinery,  we  may  expect  to  have, 
a balance  in  hand  of  about  four  hundred  pounds 
after  paying  our  very  moderate  London  manage- 
ment expenses,  which  only  amount  to  about  fifty 
pounds  a year.  I would  take  the  present  opportunity 
to  remind  our  shareholders  that  we  pay  nothing  to 
our  Directors,  and  before  I sit  down  I should  like  to 
propose  a very  cordial  vote  of  thanks  to  our  Dire  . tors 
for  t'u.,-  time  and  care  they  g'va  tj  o ir  iute  --ts. 
\V.i.h  a vote  of  thanks  to  olr.  II:iry  >V  . liter,  and 
to  the  Directors,  the  m *eting  terminated. 
THE  OXIDATION  OF  TEA. 
Messrs.  Richard  Moreland  and  Sou,  the  makers  of 
Mr.  Nathan  Sharpe’s  tea  machinery,  have  just  con- 
structed a machine  which  they  call  the  “ Simplex  Cool 
Oxidizer"  (Nathan  Sharpe’s  Patent).  It  is  designed 
for  keeping  rolled  leaf  perfectly  cool  during  the  im- 
portant process  of  o.xidation  or  fermentation,  and  it 
is  claimed  for  it  that  it  thus  improves  the  quality  and 
market  value  of  the  manufactured  tea. 
At  present  oxidation  occupies  various  periods  of 
time  according  to  atmospheric  and  other  con- 
ditions. These  various  periods  of  time,  it  is 
stated  by  the  manufacturers  of  the  machine,  may  now, 
by  the  use  of  the  “ Simplex  ” Cool  Oxidizer,  be 
turned  into  regular  periods  of  given  time,  at 
the  termination  of  which  the  tea  maker  can  rely  on 
the  proper  colour  being  attained.  It  is  also  claimed 
that  nesides  improving  quality  by  cool  oxidation  and 
ensuring  regular  time,  this  machine  dispenses  with 
the  present  necessity  for  the  erection  of  separate 
fermenting  rooms  or  houses,  as  well  as  the  attendant 
labour  for  syringing  the  walls  and  surroundings 
with  water.  Great  economy  in  room  is  also  effected, 
as  the  machine  only  occupies  a ground  space  of  12 
feet  by  0 feet,  864  square  feet  of  leaf  surf, me  being 
attained.  Thus  a machine  of  this  size  will  approxi- 
mately take  36  rolls,  or  11,000  1b.  of  rolled  leaf  at 
Tlie  "Simplex”  Cool  Oxidizer  is  made  m two  sizes,  al- 
though any  special  size  can  be  made  to  suit  garden 
requirements. 
The  machine  consists  of  a series  of  racks,  upon 
which  the  trays  filled  with  rolled  tea  leaf  are  placed. 
A tank  at  the  top  of  the  machine  is  kept  full  of  water 
and  this  water  is  fed  by  means  of  perforated  pipes  in 
small  sprays  down  inclined  boards  on  to  the  (ferment- 
ing) cloth  ends  and  sides  of  the  machine,  which  are 
thereby  automaticallv  saturated,  thus  forming  a 
saturated  cloth  chamber  in  which  the  leaf  is  placed, 
For  the  effectual  cooling  of  the  air,  and  consequent 
reduction  of  temperature,  two  air  propellers  play  on 
to  and  force  air  through  the  saturated  cloth  ends  of 
the  machine.  The  air  thus  forced  around  the  leaf  is 
effectually  cooled  by  its  displacement  and  contact 
with  the  saturated  cloth.  When  the  desired  colour  of 
Uftf  i«  attained  the  water  i«  turned  off  (by  the  regu 
lator  taps),  the  air  propellers  stopped,  and  the  satur- 
ated curtains  at  the  sides  of  the  machine  pulled  on  one 
side.  The  trays  being  withdrawn,  emptied,  and  re- 
charged with  freshly  rolled  leaf,  the  curtains  are 
again  closed  up  at  the  sides,  the  water  turned  on  and 
the  air  propellers  started.  Some  idea  of  the  cooling 
capacity  of  the  “ Simplex  ” Cool  Oxidizer  can  be 
imagined  by  the  fact  that  the  two  42  in.  air  propellers 
pass  26,000  to  30,000  cubic  feet  of  thoroughly  cooled 
air  through  the  machine  per  minute,  and  without,  it 
is  said,  in  any  way  disturbing  the  leaf. — I’lantiwj 
Opinion,  Dec.  5. 
DIGESTED  TEA  NOTES. 
In  studying  Damber’s  ever-useful  pages,  it  has 
often  struck  me  how  little  the  scientific  portions  of  it 
are  appreciated  by  the  ordinary  reader.  Nay,  even 
the  practical  parts  are  only  half-digested,  if  one  can 
judge  from  casual  conversation  w'ith  those  who  profess 
to  highly  appreciite  the  book.  I have  an  idea  the 
fault  is  as  much  due  to  the  author  as  to  the  reader ; 
to  the  former  bec.anse  he  introduces  a vast  deal  that 
might  very  well  have  been  left  out  (he  was  told  to 
wi’ite  out  a book  atid  he  had  to  smell  it  out  some- 
how!),, and  to  the  latter  for  carelessness  iu  seizing 
upon  the  main  points.  So  that  now'  the  book  has  been 
in  print  so  long  that  even  a bare-faced  reprint  w’ould 
hardly  effect  its  sale,  I venture  to  give  your  readers 
what  I have  called  a “Planting  Digest”  of  sorts. 
Inasmuch  as  most  eminent  scientists,  Huxley  and 
a few  others  except-  d.  ha  e their  bumbler  public 
(xponent-i  of  thc-irhig-i  jny-  ie.'  es,  M . Keiwav  Piamber 
will  Slot  <ju:.r;  el  Witn  m fos  r.  .lUer  iu'.T  him  a imil  ir 
service. 
Gexi:h,\l. — In  his  opening  chajitci  on  the  history 
of  tea,  thj  first  practical  fact  we  have  is  that  ts.i 
grows  over  the  vast  spree  of  23  degrees  latitude  and  30 
degrees  of  longtitude,  consequently  can  stand  almost 
any  climate  ; from  the  snow-covered  hills  of  Darjeeling 
to  the  moist  burning  plains  of  Assam.  The  chief 
differences  iu  climate , between  China  and  India  are 
that  in  China  the  rains  are  much  better  distributed, 
and  the  range  of  temperature  is  fir  greater.  The 
tea  shrub  gets  a far  longer  period  of  rest,  and  the 
picking  season  is  a great  deal  shorter.  In  Java,  as 
everywhere  else,  it  has  been  found  that  the  higher 
the  elevation  the  better  the  flavour;  the  best  altitude 
for  all-round  profits  is  from  3, .500  to  4,000.  Tea  plants 
from  China  were  first  introduced  into  India  in 
1780,  but  there  is  strong  evidence  to  show  that  the 
tea  plant  is  indigenous  to  India,  from  whence  it  was 
probably  introduced  into  China  hundreds  of  years 
ago.  After  various  abortive  attempts  to  introduce 
the  culture  of  the  plant,  some  Bohea  seed  was  ob- 
tained in  1835  and  distributed  in  various  parts  of 
India  : the  Nilgiris  we.-e  one  of  the  only  two  dis- 
tricts in  which  they  grew  at  all.  Captain  Minchin 
planted  a few  of  them  at  Manautoddy,  Wynaad, 
where  their  growth  was  excellent.  It  was  in  1823 
thit  indigenous  varieties  were  found  to  be  growing  in 
Assam,  but  the  value  was  held  to  be  but  sm  dl. 
Finally  in  1818  Mr.  Fortune  made  his  famous  trip  to 
China,  but  by  that  tune  ab  -ut  3')0  acres  ha-ii  been 
plauie-d  in  viriou.s  parr.s  of  Upper  I,  dia.  These 
pl.uititions  were  ail  Govt.rnmeuL  or  rither  " John 
Company  ” ones.  Hence  in  our  frequent  railings 
against  the  G iv eminent,  we  should  not  forget  that 
the  very  industry  on  which  we  (some  of  us)  thrive 
is  due  to  their  initiation 
Plan  i-  Life  : the  Bark. — Tlie  usual  scientific  plati- 
tudes that  the  roots  go  down  and  the  shoots  grow 
up,  I will  pass  over.  But  the  almost  equally  trite 
remarks  on  the  bark  are  worth  dwelling  upon,  for 
the  most  astonishing  ignorance  prevails  on  this  point. 
The  bark  consists  of  a layer  of  vitally  active  cells, 
which  in  a mature  plant  are  the  only  channels  by  lohich 
the  food  saps  pu.M  up  from  the  roots.  In  cold  weather 
the  cells  are  inert,  but  in  spring  they  are  in  full 
activity.  Yet  how  often  one  sees  a man  puzzle  his 
brains  over  a sulky  tree,  with  a flagrantly  dilapidated 
bark.  What  can  be  the  matter  with  the  tree  ? He  finds 
a few  spots  on  tlio  leaves.  Now  he  has  got  it  1 It’s 
a fungus,  that’s  what  it  is.  And  though  he  doesp'li 
